JH-SB’s Friends’ Foundation golf tournament rained out!

Jeffery (the Care Bear), Danny Roche, master of ceremonies; Sébastien Tremblay of BMO Nesbitt Burns, honorary president of the tournament; Joanne King, president of Jeffery Hale-Saint Brigid’s Friends’ Foundation; and Guy Thibodeau, deputy CEO of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and director of Jeffery Hale-Saint Brigid’s, hold up the big cheque for $32,000 raised by the sale of tickets and donations to the tournament and dinner.

The 28th annual Jeffery Hale-Saint Brigid’s Friends’ Foundation golf tournament may have been rained out, but it turned out to be the best ever fundraising event!

In spite of the rain, a dinner was held at the Club de Golf Cap-Rouge and a good time was had by all. Some 80 people met and greeted each other in the bar before sitting down in the dining room to enjoy a tasty meal, catered by the club.

There were lots of great door prizes donated by many generous sponsors, awarded to those who had purchased raffle tickets. The top prize was a WestJet “gift of flight” voucher valued at $2,900, won by Oscar Toloza, and the second prize, a Smart TV valued at $800, won by Philip Boucher, was nothing to sniff at either!

There were two surprise visitors at this year’s banquet, none other than Jeffery Hale himself and Quebec Gazette journalist Charles Roger, portrayed respectively by Michael Bourguignon and Ladd Johnson. Both were in the cast of The Philanthropist, presented at CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence in August 2017 and encore performances (by popular demand) in February of this year.

Roger asked Hale why all of his philanthropic projects failed over time. “The Jeffery Hale Sunday School – Closed,” to which Hale replied, “We have nurtured our schools and are now building a state-of-the-art high school.” Roger continued, “The Quebec Providence and Savings Bank – Closed.” Hale replied, “We have a strong generous community foundation that has invested millions of dollars in our community to strengthen our institutions and help the less fortunate.” “Okay, healthcare,” insisted Roger. “The Ladies Protestant Home – Closed! The Jeffery Hale Hospital is now run by the government, imagine!” Hale responded, “Mr. Roger, look at the people sitting here. You may see government bodies running our health system, but it is the members of our community who support these institutions. Without people, these institutions are just buildings. What you see as failures, I see as progress. They did not fail, they have been nurtured by our community for 150 years! That’s progress, Mr. Roger. One hundred and fifty years of compassion. If we change one life, Mr. Roger, we have not failed.”

At the end of the evening, organizers were proud to announce that the golf tournament and dinner had raised a grand total of $32,000, the most they have ever raised during the 28 years of the event’s history.